


Three's Company

by LittlebutFiery



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, First Dates, Fluff, Polyamory, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15369054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlebutFiery/pseuds/LittlebutFiery
Summary: Jean is thrilled when Riza agrees to a date with him. She reveals something on their date that Jean isn't expecting, leading to a very unexpected second first date.





	Three's Company

**Author's Note:**

> HUGE THANKS to pigeonfluff and This_is_not_my_Penname for their absurdly large amount of help on this fic.

Jean’s heart raced as the others shuffled out of the office, headed for lunch. Mustang had led the lunch exodus for once, giving Jean the perfect opportunity to do something he’d had decided weeks ago he wanted to do.

He was going to ask Riza Hawkeye on a date.

It was probably one of the worst ideas he’d ever had, to be perfectly honest. She was miles out of his league, a ridiculously perfect combination of brains, brawn, and boobs, and dangerously close to being one of his commanding officers.

She wasn’t, officially – he’d checked. Repeatedly.

He was pretty sure he knew her answer already, too, but that wasn’t going to stop him. His dad had once told him that the only way to guarantee failure was to never do something at all, so here he was, trying to keep breathing while he walked towards Riza’s desk.

She was still working diligently, as always. Her sandwich was sitting on the corner of her desk, dangerously close to falling off, with only a nibble or two out of it. Jean knew that it was going to stay that way, forgotten, for hours after lunch was done.

“Hey, Riza?” he managed.

Riza looked up, startled for only a moment, before she saw Jean and relaxed. She smiled, “Jean, why are you still here? Don’t you have lunch to get?”

“I wanted to ask you something first,” Jean said, fidgeting with the lighter in his pocket.

“Something more important than food?” Riza chuckled.

Jean worried his lip between his teeth, so Riza asked more gently, “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah!” Jean replied, a little too forcefully, his voice almost cracking. He cleared his throat and repeated, “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“So…?” Riza prompted.

Jean took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, cringed, and blurted out, “Do you want to get dinner with me?”

When he finally found the courage to open his eyes and peek at her reaction, he was stunned to find a wide smile and a faint blush on her cheeks. “Dinner?”

“Y’know, like…a date?” Jean asked weakly.

Riza laughed. “I figured that’s what you meant. I’d need to check my calendar.”

Jean sighed, his whole body sagging with the weight of her obvious disinterest. He’d heard that line more than once, and he knew a polite rejection when he heard it. Damn it, why did he let himself get his hopes up? He  _ knew _ she would say no, and yet here he was, moping about it anyway.

“…Jean, you’re not listening to me.”

“What?” he asked, faintly dazed.

“I’m not trying to be coy or turn you down. I’m interested, I promise. I do genuinely need to check my calendar,” Riza replied, amusement in those gorgeous amber eyes. “I left my datebook at home today.”

“O-oh,” Jean managed. It took him a moment before his brain caught up. “Wait, hold on, really? You’re…saying yes?”

Riza nodded, her smile growing bigger. “Yes, I’m saying yes.”

Jean pressed a hand to his forehead, willing himself to continue standing upright. “H-holy shit. I…didn’t think I’d get this far.”

Riza laughed. “You need to give yourself some more credit.”

“I’ll make sure to pass that on to the guys,” Jean chuckled.

“I’ll call you tonight when I get home, all right? We can figure out the details then,” Riza said.

Panic gripped him for only a moment. What if she  _ was _ just trying to let him down easy? What if she didn’t call? He’d be waiting by the phone all night like a moron, and he wouldn’t be able to face her the next day.

“Jean.”

“Yeah?”

“Have I ever broken a promise to you?” Riza asked. He shook his head without hesitation – Riza was always as good as her word. “I don’t intend on starting tonight. I’ll call you when I get home. I  _ promise _ .”

Jean dawdled around the office well after the other guys had left, bullshitting his way through paperwork Breda hadn’t felt like doing, paperwork Jean had charitably offered to do for him. Anything that could keep him at the office longer, prevent him from anxiously hovering by his phone like a lovesick dork, was a good thing. Riza showed no indication that she was leaving anytime soon, nor did Mustang, though he whined loudly about the amount of paperwork he had to sign.

Eventually, though, Jean ran out of paperwork to do, ran out of files to reorganize in his desk, so he reluctantly called it a night. He practically ran home, knowing Riza lived closer to the office than he did and not wanting to miss her call, and inhaled dinner before plopping down in the armchair by his phone. He picked up a book Breda had given him, something about the history of Amestrian firearms, and tried desperately to distract himself with it.

He’d re-read the first page at least a dozen times, barely remembering any of it, and chain-smoked three cigarettes before the phone finally rang. Jean snatched the receiver up before the first ring finished, knocking his book and ashtray to the ground in the process.

“Hello?” he practically demanded, trying not to sound too eager.

“Jean,” came that blissfully familiar voice, and Jean felt the vicegrip around his chest ease. Riza was as good as her word, as she always was. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“Not at all,” he laughed. “Just…reading a book Heymans gave me.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a better answer earlier,” Riza went on. “I just needed to double-check a few things first.”

“Right,” Jean nodded. “So...um, do you have any preferences? Or anything?”

Shit, it had been so long since he’d had a proper date he could barely even remember how this was supposed to go. Was he supposed to have planned all this already? Fuck.

“Well, tomorrow is Friday. That sounds as good a day as any to me,” Riza replied. There was the soft rustle of paper on the other end of the line as she flipped through what Jean assumed was her datebook. “Does six work?”

“You sure the Colonel’s gonna let you leave that early?” Jean asked. There were nights where he  _ knew _ Riza and Mustang were in the office until at least seven, if not later, and there was no way Mustang was going to ease up on her workload just because she had a date.

Riza laughed. “Yes. I told him today I wanted to leave early tomorrow. He wasn’t happy, but he can handle it. There’s plenty of work for him to catch up on without my help.”

“Okay,” Jean nodded. “Um...I can meet you at your apartment? I think I have the address still, from when I watched Hayate for you.”

“That sounds nice,” Riza agreed. “How about Marino’s, the Aerugian restaurant near the plaza?”

“Shit, that’s a long walk from your place. I can try to find some money for a cab, if you really want to go there…” Jean said, digging in his pocket in the hopes of finding some spare change. There was none. He sighed.

“I believe tomorrow’s supposed to be a nice night. I don’t mind the walk, if you don’t,” Riza replied.

“Marino’s sounds good to me,” Jean nodded. If Riza wanted Aerugian food, then damn it, that’s what she was getting. “I’m...I’m really excited.”

“I am too,” Riza said, and he could practically hear her smile through the phone. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Jean grinned. “‘Night, Riza.”

“Goodnight, Jean.”

 

Jean knew he was being insufferable at the office the next day, and he could not give less of a rat’s ass. He had a  _ date! _ With  _ Riza Hawkeye! _

Granted, if he said that pair of sentences one more time, he was pretty sure Breda was going to strangle him, based on the looks he kept getting. For his part, Mustang seemed to be handling it surprisingly well, considering Jean had thought the Colonel had a thing for Riza. Apparently, he had been wrong.

The day zoomed by, mostly on account of Jean keeping himself absurdly busy. He raced through all of his paperwork, did some of Fuery’s, filed papers for Falman, ran errands Breda didn’t feel like doing, and even made a cup of coffee for Mustang. When 4:30 rolled around, Jean barely had to turn towards Mustang and open his mouth before the Colonel laughed and said, “Go, Havoc. Please. Have a good evening.”

Jean all but ran out the door, nearly forgetting his uniform jacket in his eagerness to get home and cleaned up.

He’d had his outfit picked out since the previous night, so it didn’t take him long at all to get ready, leaving him far too much time before he needed to leave. He made another shot at reading Breda’s book, getting about a paragraph further, before giving up and settling on pacing his apartment, fidgeting with his lighter’s cap.

Open, close, open, close. What if she changed her mind? What if she realized she was way out of his league?

Open, close, open, close. No, he needed to give himself some credit. Just because she spent time around the likes of Mustang didn’t mean she preferred fancy rich guys.

Open, close, open, close. That said, he ought to do  _ something _ to show her he could treat her right. Flowers! Flowers were a great idea. There was a florist on the way to Riza’s apartment. He’d stop there.

Jean shoved the lighter back in his pocket, grabbed his coat, and headed out.

It was a cool night, bordering on chilly, leaving Jean’s cheeks and nose tinged pink when he arrived at Riza’s door, a little bundle of sunflowers in his hands. The florist had said something about sunflowers meaning adoration and loyalty, and that sounded perfect to him. He hoped Riza even liked flowers.

Eventually, he dragged himself from his own thoughts, steeling himself and knocking on Riza’s door.

She answered immediately, as though she’d been hovering by the door waiting, and Jean couldn’t suppress a smile at that information. Riza was just as excited as he was!

“You clean up nice,” Riza teased. “I didn’t even know you had a tie.”

Jean chuckled, embarrassed. In truth, he didn’t. He’d nicked this one from Breda months ago, with no intention of ever returning it. If she liked it, he  _ definitely _ had no plans to return it.

As for Riza, well, she looked stunning. She was in a simple outfit, a green dress and black flats, but damn, if she wasn’t more radiant than the sun.

“Oh, here. I...hope you like flowers,” Jean said lamely, holding out the little bouquet.

Riza accepted them with a smile on her face, smelling the sunflowers and saying, “I do. Sunflowers especially. I even finally have a vase to put them in.”

He followed her into her apartment, rubbing Hayate’s belly while Riza put the flowers in her vase. When she was satisfied with her arrangement, she picked up her purse and asked, “Ready to go?”

Jean nodded. “But, uh...it’s getting a little chilly. I’d grab a coat.”

Riza frowned. “I left my coat at work the other day. I’ll be fine.”

“You can use mine,” Jean replied without hesitation, shedding his jacket and offering it to Riza. She accepted it and put it on almost shyly, and Jean had to suppress a laugh at how comically huge it looked on her.

“Well, let’s get going,” Riza said. “We don’t want to be late.”

Jean let Riza lead the way towards the restaurant, as he had no clue how to get there. She linked her arm in his and practically pulled him along, which was a great thing, since Jean wasn’t entirely certain he could remember how to walk otherwise. He was going on a date. With Riza Hawkeye. Shit, he was lucky.

The streets were crowded as they walked towards the restaurant, exchanging playful banter that made Jean’s heart sing. In the office, Riza was all business, but he’d known her long enough to know that she had a great sense of humor. It was so nice to get to see her pull down some of her walls to let him in, even if just for the night.

As they continued walking, though, the path Riza had chosen led them down increasingly less busy streets, until they found themselves on an empty side street. Jean laughed, “Trying to get us mugged, Riza? You picked an awfully weird route.”

“I…” Riza started, then stopped. “I wanted to talk to you about something, without anyone else hearing.”

Jean stopped walking, his heart sinking. That was not a good-sounding sentence. That was  _ definitely _ not a good-sounding sentence. He squeaked, “Yeah?”

“There’s...something you ought to know, before this gets any more serious,” Riza said. She looked nervous, biting her lip, and that only served to send Jean’s heart rate skyrocketing. This could not, in any way, shape, or form, be a good thing.

When he didn’t say anything, she went on, “I really like you, and I’m thrilled you’re interested in me, too.”

There had to be more, Jean knew it. He prompted weakly, “But?”

“...but there’s someone else I really like as well,” Riza said.

That was it? Hell, Jean had practically expected that. He laughed, relieved, “That’s it?”

“...and I’ve been seeing him for a while,” she finished.

Wait, what?

Was he...was she...was Riza cheating on someone with him? No, that couldn’t be right. She was loyal to a fault; she would never even entertain the idea of adultery. There had to be some kind of explanation for this.

“Um, okay?” Jean managed. “Uh...do I know him?”

Riza laughed. “You could say that.”

Jean ran through the list of mutual friends they had, trying to think of anyone who might fit the bill. “Um...can I have a hint?”

“I already gave you one,” Riza frowned. “He’s a mutual friend.”

“We have lots of mutual friends,” Jean protested.

“We’re particularly close,” Riza replied.

She was staring at him with a funny expression in her eyes, as though what she was saying should have been painfully obvious. When Jean stared back, feeling immensely stupid, she went on, “We work well together.”

“I mean, if you’re together, I should sure hope so,” Jean laughed weakly. “It doesn’t make sense to be with somebody you can’t stand.”

Riza pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in frustration. She tried again, “He’s something of a hotshot.”

Who the utter hell was she talking about? Jean wracked his brain, but kept drawing a blank. Riza sighed, “You could say there’s a  _ spark _ between us. We fell for each other just like that.” For effect, she snapped her fingers.

“He sounds like a swell guy,” Jean managed.

Riza groaned, exasperated. “Jean, I know you’re not this slow.”

He continued staring at her, as though something in her eyes would magically make the answer appear. She stared back, clearly waiting for him to figure it out.

Jean forced himself to think again. Someone they both knew, who worked well with Riza...a hotshot...with a spark...and...a...a...snap.

Oh, shit. Oh, fuck.

“What the fuck!” Jean hissed. “The Colonel?”

“Keep your voice down!” Riza hissed back.

“You’re with the Colonel?” Jean repeated. Another realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he actually swayed for a moment.

He was going on a date with Riza.

Riza was in a relationship with Mustang.

He was having an affair with his boss’s girlfriend.

Said boss could incinerate him in a second if he found out.

Jean Havoc was a dead man.

“Jean?” Riza shook him gently, bringing him back to the present. “Jean, it’s okay.”

“How is this okay?” Jean practically squeaked. “Riza, I...we...you...he’s going to fucking kill me!”

To his great surprise, Riza laughed. “No, he won’t.”

“But you! And him!” Jean protested. “And now us! I…”

“I need you to stop worrying about that and focus on breathing, okay?” Riza said, worried, as Jean’s voice grew higher in pitch, sounding half-strangled.

“But,” Jean said again.

“ _ Breathe _ , Jean,” Riza ordered, and Jean obeyed.

When his breathing returned to something close to normal, Riza explained gently, “This isn’t an affair.”

“But,” Jean tried once more.

Riza shook her head. “He knows about this. I talked to him about it. Besides, he was in the office when you were bragging, remember?”

“I...don’t understand,” Jean finally managed. “So...you two...are okay with cheating on each other?”

“I’ve already told you, this is  _ not _ an affair,” Riza frowned.

“Then...are you…” Jean turned scarlet, hardly able to believe what he was about to have to say aloud. “...looking to have a threesome? I mean, I never thought I’d pass on one, but like, with you and the boss, and…”

“Jean,” Riza cut him off, and he stopped talking. “I need you to listen, okay?”

He nodded, unable to find any more words. She went on patiently, “Have you heard of being polyamorous?”

Jean shook his head mutely, so Riza continued, “It’s when someone can have a deep romantic relationship with more than one person at the same time. It’s not cheating, because everyone involved knows about it and is okay with it.”

“Oh,” Jean managed. “So...I guess you’re…?”

Riza nodded. “Roy and I are committed to each other. I care about him very much. But that doesn’t change the fact that I like you, too.”

“...and he’s okay with that?” Jean asked.

This brought a smile to Riza’s face. “He’s rather fond of you, too.”

“Oh,” Jean managed again, mind whirling. Wait, Riza  _ and _ Mustang liked him? What?

It took him a long time to realize Riza was talking. She said, “Jean, listen. I understand if you’re not comfortable with that. I’m not going to push the issue. Let’s...let’s just enjoy tonight together, and it doesn’t have to be any more than that.”

He nodded, relieved when they finally began to walk again.

His mind was buzzing throughout their date, try as he might to stay focused on Riza, on her beautiful smile and clarion laugh. She could clearly tell he was distracted by her earlier revelation, patiently repeating words and kindly listening him to stumble through stories and jokes like a moron.

The walk home was pleasant, albeit a little awkward, Jean too preoccupied to provide much meaningful conversation. They stopped at a cafe for hot chocolate, laughing at each other when they wound up with whipped cream on their noses. Jean was  _ freezing _ , his jacket still firmly on Riza’s shoulders, so he relished the excuse to pull her close to him and interlace his frozen fingers with her warm ones.

Finally, though, they arrived back at her apartment. Part of Jean hoped she’d invite him in, while the other knew it would be better if he did some actual thinking on the matter first. Riza seemed to sense this, saying, “I enjoyed myself tonight.”

“Yeah,” Jean nodded dumbly. “Me, too.”

“I’m sorry for dropping a bomb on you like that,” she went on. “But...you deserved to know.”

Jean just nodded again. Riza smiled and said, “I’ll leave it up to you, okay? Whatever you want to do is okay with me. If you’d like to do this again, you know where to find me.”

With this, she handed Jean his coat back and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

He walked halfway home before he remembered to put his coat back on, dazed by the memory of Riza’s lips on his and the weight of everything she’d said.

What had she called it? Poly...amory? Something like that. He hadn’t even realized that you could have a serious relationship with more than one other person without it being cheating. Granted, he’d also grown up in the most rural, isolated, conservative town in the entire country. It didn’t really surprise him that even in his wealth of experience, he’d missed a couple of things.

The more he thought about it, though, was it really  _ that _ strange? Sure, he preferred the ladies (even if they didn’t always prefer him), but that hadn’t stopped him from hooking up with a few guys in the past. This would just be...a relationship with both. At the same time.

Maybe...having two partners wasn’t a bad thing.

Was partners the right word? That sounded too...cop-ish, but nothing else really seemed to work. He settled on partners.

After all, he’d been accused more than once of being too over-the-top, too clingy, too quick to fall head over heels. He couldn’t count on one hand the number of previous girlfriends that had told him that.

Jean couldn’t help it. His parents had a loving relationship, and he’d always wanted one just like it, ever since he was little. He just had to find the right person, and maybe they’d accept that he really, really liked showing affection. All the time. He didn’t  _ mean _ to be clingy or sentimental, but when he fell for somebody, he fell  _ hard _ . Jean liked nothing more than making his partner happy with cuddles or homemade dinners or impromptu dancing to the radio. Thus far, it seemed he’d overwhelmed his previous girlfriends with affection, and they hadn’t quite known what to do. They certainly hadn’t been able to reciprocate his overeager shows of affection.

But then again...if he had  _ two _ people to care about, and show how much he cared...and if he had  _ two _ people to return that love…

...maybe he was a lot more into this idea than he thought he was going to be.

He knew he would absolutely, in a heartbeat, date Riza. Holy shit, he’d had a crush on her since they were at the academy. He’d very nearly kissed her then, too, but she had been drunk and he felt guilty, so he’d carried her home and tucked her in instead. And damn, she’d gotten even prettier over the years. The fact that she had agreed to dinner with him  _ still _ blew his mind.

As for Mustang, well.

Jean had only ever see the man as his commanding officer first and foremost, and it was extraordinarily hard to remove that element. But if, hypothetically, he pushed that aside and pretended the risk for a court-martial wasn’t present...well…

He kind of had to admit, Roy Mustang was not a bad-looking guy.

At all.

He was strong, handsome, and witty, and though he was Jean’s boss, he was also a good friend.

Jean paused halfway up the stairs to his apartment. He couldn’t seem to stop coming back to the fact that Mustang -  _ Roy _ \- was his CO. And Riza was pretty damn close to being one, too.

...he clearly had a thing for authority figures.

This somewhat-embarrassing revelation had, Jean continued up to his apartment. He had a lot to sleep on.   
  


“Alright, boys, I think it’s officially time for lunch,” Roy proclaimed the following Monday, closing a file and dramatically setting his pen down.

Jean could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he watched the rest of the team start to make their way towards the mess hall. Breda asked something that Jean assumed was to the effect of “you joining us?”

He wasn’t entirely certain what he said in response, wrapped up as he was in trying not to stare at Riza, but whatever it was, Breda clearly didn’t buy it. He was nothing if not a good friend, though, simply raising an eyebrow before following the others out the door without comment.

“You’ve been remarkably diligent in your paperwork lately, Lieutenant Havoc,” Riza said, amused. “Working through lunch twice in a week? I’m impressed.”

Jean managed, “I mean, it’s never too late to get my shit together, right?”

Riza laughed. They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a moment before she asked, “How was your weekend?”

“Not bad,” Jean shrugged, and in all honesty, it hadn’t been. Full of a lot of introspection, yes, but certainly not bad. “Slept in, got some thinking done, actually got through a chapter of the book Heymans gave me.”

“Oh? Thinking about what?” Riza asked, finally looking up from her paperwork to regard him curiously.

“There was this great girl I had a date with on Friday,” Jean replied, desperately trying to play it cool as he saw Riza flush. “Mostly thinking about her.”

“You may have mentioned her once or twice before your date,” Riza teased. “How was it?”

“It was great,” Jean smiled, willing to play along as long as Riza was. “She looked gorgeous and the food was good. Can’t really ask for much else.”

Riza laughed. Jean went on, “...she did drop a pretty big bombshell on me, though.”

Riza’s voice was a little tense as she replied, “It must have been important to mention on a first date.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Jean nodded. “That’s what most of the thinking was about this weekend.”

She said nothing, avoiding Jean’s eye, until he went on, “But I think I’d really like to see her again sometime.”

Riza started, surprised. She managed, “She’s a lucky girl, if you want to see her after she mentioned something so serious.”

Jean got up from his desk, ambling over to where Riza sat. “She’s definitely special, that’s for damn sure.”

“What about what she mentioned?” Riza frowned. “Is that not...a dealbreaker?”

He leaned down so he could murmur in her ear, “A dealbreaker? Hell, I was hoping her friend could join us, too.”

Riza’s eyes grew wider than he’d realized they could. “R...really?”

“Yeah, he sounded like a real interesting guy,” Jean grinned. “And if she likes him, he’s gotta be a charmer.”

Riza smiled, dropping the act. “We should probably mention this to him, don’t you think?”

“Oh...yeah,” Jean nodded. “Um...I guess we should do that...soon.”

“No time like the present,” Riza replied simply.

“But...he’s at lunch...with the guys,” Jean said.

“You’re a clever guy, Jean,” Riza laughed. “You can come up with an excuse, I’m sure.”

“Right,” Jean managed. “Um...I’ll...go get him.”

Jean was pretty sure he was trembling as he made his way to the mess hall; it took him three tries before he was able to get a cigarette from the box in his pocket, and another four tries to get his damn lighter to light. Why the hell was he so nervous? He’d asked plenty of people on plenty of dates before. Roy wasn’t even the first guy.

He was, however, still  _ his boss _ , a fact Jean was trying very hard not to think about.

Breda noticed Jean first, calling, “Hey, look who finally decided to join us!”

Jean took a breath, put on his game face, and complained, “Not quite. Hawkeye had a question about some of the paperwork she’s doing, and she wanted me to come get the Colonel. I’ve still got some more work to do when I get back.”

Roy paused halfway through a bite of his sandwich, frowning deeply. He sighed, “Sometimes I think that woman is a slave driver. Tell her I’m eating.”

“She was insistent,” Jean persisted.  “C’mon, boss. The faster you go see what she wants, the faster you can get back to lunch.”

“Fine,” Roy huffed, setting his sandwich down. He shot a warning look at the other men. “If anything happens to my food while I’m gone, you’re paying to replace it.”

“Us? Mooch off your lunch? Never,” Breda chuckled.

“I mean it,” Roy warned, rising from his seat and following Jean back to the office.

The walk was painfully awkward for Jean, although Roy said nothing, clearly peeved about having to leave his lunch to return early to paperwork. Roy all but slammed the office door open, scowling, “Lieutenant, I sincerely hope this paperwork is life-or-death, because I can guarantee my  _ excellent _ lunch is not going to be there when I get back.”

Riza simply smiled. “My apologies, sir. Lieutenant Havoc and I needed to talk to you about something.”

Roy raised an eyebrow at Jean, who shrugged sheepishly, before making his way towards his desk. “Interesting. That’s not what Lieutenant Havoc said.”

“Yes, well, we figured paperwork sounded somewhat less suspicious,” Riza said, not even looking up from her paperwork as Roy sat down, propping his feet up on his desk.

“Suspicious, hmm?” Roy asked. “Consider me intrigued.”

Jean managed to walk to Roy’s desk without tripping, something he considered no small feat with how badly he was trembling. Fuck, he was nervous. He couldn’t even remember the last time he was this nervous to talk about a date. Maybe the first time he’d ever asked a girl out?

Granted, this was a first time asking, in a way. He’d never had to ask  _ two _ other people on a date before.

“Well?” Roy prompted, a smug grin on his face. “Out with it, Havoc.”

Jean had never felt quite so much like he was a child being scolded by the principal since the last time he  _ was _ a child being scolded by the principal. Riza sat quietly to the side, feigning disinterest, while Roy’s dark gaze indicated he wasn’t really in the mood for Jean to beat around the bush. The amount of sheer authority Roy was exuding as he impatiently waited for Jean to speak was overwhelming.

Shit, that was kind of hot. More than kind of, if Jean was being honest.

Fuck, that was  _ not _ helping his focus right now.

“...I sincerely hope you didn’t lure me back from lunch just to gape at me like an idiot,” Roy frowned. “I was rather enjoying my meal.”

“I…” Jean tried, and his voice immediately gave out. He desperately looked at Riza, who tried to suppress a smile.

“Go on, Jean. You’re a big boy, aren’t you? Tell the Colonel what you told me,” she teased, as though it was just that easy.

He contemplated passing out, but that wasn’t really going to get him anywhere, so he desperately willed the lightheadedness to pass. It was just a conversation. It wasn’t going to kill him. He was going to be fine.

Then he saw the patient encouragement in Riza’s face, contrasting the stupidly attractive smirk on Roy’s, and swayed a little. God, he wanted this so bad, and he wasn’t entirely certain he could even get out the words to express that.

“Are you all right, Lieutenant?” Roy asked, and behind that smug smile was something that sounded like genuine concern.

Jean started to sway again, his head spinning, but this time there was a gentle touch between his shoulder blades and a soft voice murmuring, “It’s okay, Jean. I’m here.”

He took a deep breath, emboldened by Riza’s touch, and managed to croak out, “So...um...Riza told me...uh...you and her...were...a thing.”

Roy raised an eyebrow but said nothing, so Jean stammered on, “Um...she mentioned that on...on our...date. And she mentioned something else, too. Uh...p...poly...god damn it…”

“Polyamory,” Riza supplied.

“That,” Jean nodded. “Where you’re with...more than one person. And...I really liked my date with Riza. But...I thought, maybe...um...we could try...something...with the three of us.”

To Jean’s great surprise, Roy seemed stunned into uncharacteristic silence, staring open-mouthed at his lieutenants. After a moment he recollected himself, cleared his throat, and said, “Are you proposing what I think, Lieutenant?”

Jean took a deep breath, steeled himself, and managed a little bit of boldness as he said, “I’d like to have a date. With both of you.”

Roy smiled. “Well, I can’t say I was expecting this, but I’m certainly not complaining.”

Relief flooded over Jean, his knees nearly buckling. “Oh. Cool.”

Fuck, that was a stupid thing to say.

“I’m fairly certain I know Lieutenant Hawkeye’s feelings on the matter,” Roy chuckled. “So in that case, yes, I would be charmed.”

Jean managed to not say anything dumb this time, offering a relieved smile instead. “So...um...do you want to do dinner, or…?”

“Let’s keep it low-key for the first time,” Riza said. “Let’s stay in.”

Roy nodded. “We can make dinner at my apartment, if you’d like. You’re not opposed to Xingese food, are you?”

“Uh, no,” Jean shook his head.

“Excellent. I’m sure I have a few family recipes lying around,” Roy smiled. “I’ll stop by the store and pick up what we’ll need.”

“I’ll get something for dessert,” Riza said. “I know both you boys have a sweet tooth.”

“I...uh…” Jean stammered, desperate to contribute something to their little meal. “Uh...I can bring a bottle of wine? Or two?”

“Two would be a better bet,” Roy said. He laughed, “Our dear Riza enjoys a glass of wine or two while cooking, so if  _ we _ want any, we’d best have a second bottle.”

Jean nodded. Riza scowled at Roy, blushing, before asking, “When?”

It took every modicum of self-control in Jean’s body to not blurt out “tonight,” but he managed to restrain himself.

That was, until Roy all but purred, “I don’t have any plans this evening, if you don’t. Say...6:30? That should give us all enough time to get ready.”

“No, I don’t have anything planned,” Riza said. She turned to Jean, asking, “Jean?”

He shook his head with a little more vigor than necessary, making Roy laugh. “All right. It’s a date.”

Down the hall, the faint sounds of Breda, Fuery, and Falman returning from lunch became audible, so Riza quickly let her hand drop from its spot on Jean’s back, returning to her desk and resuming her work as though nothing had happened.

Jean was really, really damn glad he’d worked so hard on his paperwork earlier in the day, because he could barely see straight for the rest of the afternoon. If he’d been excited for his date with Riza - and he  _ certainly _ had been - it paled in comparison to his anticipation for this evening.   
  


Doubts began to creep up as soon as he got home, though. Shit, what was he doing? Now he had a date with  _ two _ people out of his league. He was pretty sure Roy had socks that cost more than his entire outfit, never mind that Riza was just about perfect. How could he remotely hope to play an equal part in the relationship?

He’d stopped at the store on his way to Roy’s, forking over a substantial part of his most recent paycheck to buy three bottles of what he hoped was halfway-decent wine. They’d said two, but if Riza wanted to treat herself while they cooked, then damn it, she was going to be able to.

The rest of the day had been a stressful one for Roy, so Jean knew he’d appreciate a little extra alcohol, too.

Jean stood on Roy’s ornate doorstep for almost ten minutes before he had the nerve to knock. Shit, he was really out of place here, at Roy’s door, in this hopefully soon-to-be-relationship…

Who was he kidding? He didn’t remotely deserve either of them. They were gonna change their minds, push him away, like everyone always did…

The door opened and Roy smiled at Jean, teasing, “You clean up nicely.”

“I...uh...yeah?” Jean managed.

Roy rolled his eyes. “No need to be nervous. I don’t bite.”

Jean couldn’t help but notice Roy’s pristine outfit, the expensive shirt and crisp slacks and perfectly-knotted tie, and felt himself deflate even further. God...it was only a matter of time before he fucked this up.

Roy sighed, “Jean. Breathe.”

“Right,” Jean nodded weakly. He held up the bag containing the bottles of wine, adding, “I...uh, hope this is...okay.”

Roy pulled one of the bottles from the bag, skimming the label. “Old Riviere. A solid choice.”

A wave of relief flooded over Jean. Good, he hadn’t completely fucked up yet. At least he looked like he had some semblance of an idea of what he was doing.

Suddenly, he was snapped back to reality by a surprisingly gentle hand on his cheek. There was amusement in Roy’s dark eyes as he said, “Jean. You’re okay. Riza and I are happy to have you here. We’ve...been hoping for this for a while, actually.”

“I...don’t know why?” Jean practically squeaked, intensely focused on Roy’s touch. “I…”

His further protests were silenced with a soft kiss.

Jean stiffened, startled, before relaxing into the kiss, nearly dropping the bag holding the wine bottles. Roy’s lips were shockingly soft, brushing lightly against his with care.

When Roy broke the kiss, Jean started to stammer something else dumb and self-deprecating, so Roy scowled, “Because we like you, idiot.”

With this, he headed back towards the kitchen. Jean toed off his shoes and all but ran after him, nearly tripping over a threshold in his eagerness to follow.

“There’s our dashing knight,” Riza greeted when he arrived in the kitchen. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost.”

Shit, was he late? He  _ had _ hesitated outside for a while, but he didn’t think he was  _ that _ late…

Riza laughed. “It was a joke, Jean.”

She opened one of Roy’s cupboards, pulling out three wine glasses and watching Jean expectantly. He set the bag of bottles down, pulled a bottle out of it, and summoned up the courage to kiss Riza’s cheek. She giggled in a very un-Hawkeye-like way, leaning into the kiss and humming with pleasure at the affection.

“I can get used to this,” Riza laughed, handing Jean a corkscrew. “All the kisses I could want from  _ both _ my favorite boys.”

“Is that all we’re good for?” Roy teased, accepting the glass of wine Jean handed him. “Dinner and kisses?”

“Wine, too,” Riza smiled, taking a sip from her own glass. “You’re certainly not good for paperwork.”

“I have been lately,” Jean pouted. Both Roy and Riza laughed, and he felt some of his nerves subside. Maybe...maybe he did belong here, with them, after all.

Riza set the table while Jean and Roy made dinner, a simple Xingese stir-fry. Jean was relieved he’d had to help out in the kitchen as a kid; at least he knew in this regard, he wasn’t going to make an ass of himself. He chopped up vegetables while Roy stirred the ingredients together, periodically asking for a pinch of this or that.

It was blissfully domestic, and Jean wasn’t sure he’d ever had a better first date. Hell, they hadn’t even sat down to eat yet, and he was so happy he could burst. Riza, her task done, had come to keep an eye on the guys, periodically stealing a bite of the vegetables Jean was chopping. After she’d stolen food for the third time, Jean grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the precious food and tickling her until she pleaded for mercy. Roy watched them with an affectionate grin on his face, nearly forgetting about the stir-fry in his amusement.

Miraculously, dinner was made without anything burning, and damn if it wasn’t the best dinner Jean had ever had, even better than the meal he’d shared with Riza just a few days earlier. Roy was an excellent cook, for sure, but Jean had the feeling it had something to do with the fact he was with two people he genuinely cared about.

After dinner was done and the dishes carelessly tossed in the sink, the trio migrated to Roy’s oversized couch with their final bottle of wine. They were all a little too giggly, even Roy, drunk off the wine and proximity to each other.

Roy’s grandfather clock chimed eight and he jumped up from the couch, stumbling towards his radio. Riza frowned, asking, “Roy, what are you doing?”

“It’s eight,” Roy replied, as if that explained anything.

“...and?” Jean asked, confused.

A silly grin split Roy’s face. “Riza, do you want to tell him, or should I?”

It took Riza a moment to catch on before she turned scarlet. “I...we can skip tonight.”

Roy gasped in mock surprise, clutching his chest. “Skip an episode? I might die of shock. However will I be able to follow the poor excuse for a plot if we miss a week?”

“Roy, stop,” Riza pleaded. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“Me? Never,” Roy laughed.

“...skip an episode of what, exactly?” Jean asked, trying to catch on. Why was Riza so embarrassed? Whatever it was couldn’t be  _ that _ bad.

“The Secrets of Central,” Roy chuckled.

It took Jean a long time to remember where he’d heard that name before. “...isn’t that the shitty radio drama about the Armstrongs?”

“ _ Based on _ the Armstrongs,” Roy corrected, his shit-eating grin only growing wider. “There’s a difference. Isn’t that right, Riza?”

“...it’s not shitty,” she finally said, her voice very, very small. “I...like it.”

Jean immediately felt guilty, seeing how Riza shifted uncomfortably, clearly extremely embarrassed. Shit, he should’ve known better. Roy’s teasing didn’t seem to be helping much, either. He said, “Well, then, let’s listen, yeah?”

“It doesn’t come on on Mondays,” Riza shook her head. “Roy and I always get dinner on the nights it airs, and then we listen to it. It’s a force of habit.”

“The Hallow’s Eve special is on tonight,” Roy corrected, his smile softer now. “I checked. You wouldn’t want to miss that, would you? I don’t know if it affects the plot, or not, but…”

Riza finally smiled. “It shouldn’t, but the specials are always entertaining.”

She worried her lip between her teeth, mumbling, “...I don’t want to force either of you to listen to it if you don’t want to. I’m just being silly.”

Jean shot a glare at Roy, who looked sufficiently guilty, before saying, “C’mon, Riza. We don’t mind. If it makes you happy, then let’s do it.”

Finally she nodded, so Roy turned on the radio, fiddling with a few knobs and the antenna before returning to the couch, sitting down heavily and throwing an arm around Riza’s shoulders.

Jean rested his head on Riza’s shoulder, breathing in the smell of her delicate perfume. It carried just the faintest touch of lavender, reminding him of the lavender fields near his parents’ village back east. It made him feel more at home than he already did with Roy and Riza, bringing a smile to his face.

Riza saw his dopey smile and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

“You smell good,” Jean replied, making Riza giggle.

She cupped his cheek in one of her delicate hands before kissing him, just as sweet and gentle as before, but when she pulled away, there was a glint in her eyes as she purred, “Well, I may smell good, but you certainly taste good.”

Jean felt himself get very, very warm, pulling Riza back towards him and crashing their lips together. God, she was so perfect, her lips and tongue moving against his in a way that felt just right. He could do this forever.

A whistle cut through Jean’s dazed senses, bringing him back to reality. Roy smiled at them, chuckling, “Damn, you two are hot. I’m certainly a lucky guy.”

Riza turned and pressed a kiss to Roy’s cheek. “At least you recognize it.”

Roy leaned forward for another kiss, but Riza pushed his face away. “Now shush. You’re going to distract me from the radio show.”

A petulant whine left Roy’s lips, which Riza ignored, albeit with a smile on her face as the show’s theme music began to play. Jean reached over and took Roy’s free hand in his, resting their hands on Riza’s lap. She idly rubbed her thumb across the back of their interlocked hands, sighing happily.

They were quiet while Riza’s show played, though Jean and Roy mercilessly teased her during commercial breaks, mocking particularly stilted dialogue from the show. She blushed and protested, but her smile indicated that her earlier discomfort was nowhere to be found.

By the end of the episode, though, Jean was beginning to doze, lulled to sleep by the warmth of Riza’s body and Roy’s hand against his. Riza pressed a soft kiss to his hair, murmuring to Roy, “I hate to wake him, but he and I ought to get going before it’s too late.”

This stirred Jean from his half-slumber; he shook his head and blinked hard. He mumbled childishly, “Don’t wanna go.”

Riza laughed. “Jean, you’ve got to wake up. We’ve got to get home; we can’t very well stay here tonight.”

“Why?” Jean pouted. He was perfectly happy where he was, curled up against Riza, his hand in Roy’s. He didn’t want to go home to his empty, lonely apartment, with its questionable heating and no one to cuddle with. He was warm and content where he was.

“Just think if someone saw the three of us leaving for work at the same time!” Riza protested. “Besides, you and I don’t even have our uniforms here.”

“Well, that’s an easy fix,” Roy said.

Jean sighed, expecting to hear something like “We’ll leave at different times,” before Roy went on, “We’ll just call out tomorrow.”

“What?” Jean and Riza asked as one.

“We’ve gotten plenty of work done in the last few weeks. Taking a day off won’t hurt anyone,” Roy said.

“And if all three of us call in sick?” Riza raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think it’ll be the slightest bit suspicious?”

“I don’t think even the boys are creative enough to predict this,” Roy chuckled, gesturing at the three of them. “So long as we vary our excuses, I doubt anyone will be the wiser.”

“I…” Riza began, sighing. “I want to, but...it’s not a good idea.”

“Cuddling with your boys is a bad idea?” Jean asked with an exaggerated pout.

Riza laughed despite herself. “Fine. You win. One night can’t hurt.”

Roy was the first to stand up, helping Riza up before all but dragging Jean off the couch. Jean stumbled along behind Roy, his hand in Riza’s to keep him steady, as the dark-haired man led the way to his room.

Like everything else in the apartment, Roy’s room was austere with little decoration. The only things that indicated it was even occupied were three framed pictures on the dresser - one of Roy with Madame Christmas and some of her girls, one of Roy and Hughes, and one of Roy and Riza.

Well, the pictures, and the biggest bed Jean had ever seen.

The sheets were utilitarian, a simple black with a gray wool military blanket tossed over them as a comforter. Roy looked a little embarrassed, mumbling, “I would’ve...bought something nicer if I was expecting any overnight company…”

“You’ll have to make it up to us next time,” Riza smiled.

Roy found an oversized shirt for Riza to use as a nightshirt while Jean shed his button-down and slacks, all but falling into bed clad in his undershirt and boxers. He usually slept shirtless, but he wasn’t sure if that was going a little too far, and he was too tired to care about his undershirt itching.

Riza climbed into bed next, curling up against Jean and resting her head on his chest. She hummed, “You make a good pillow.”

Roy flicked off the light and joined them, sliding under the covers on Jean’s other side. He mirrored Riza, laying his head on the other side of Jean’s chest, and chuckled, “She’s right.”

“Hey, I can handle that,” Jean grinned. “I’ve been called a lot worse.”

“Alright, you two,” Riza yawned. “We’ll have plenty of time to banter in the morning. I’m tired. Let’s get some sleep.”

Roy and Jean laughed but obeyed, quieting down and closing their eyes. Riza and Roy’s breathing slowed and became more steady, before Roy began to snore gently.

Jean laid awake for a while, happily listening to the sounds of his new partners breathing, content with the feeling of his arms around them, their bodies curled up against his own. Riza was lighter than Roy, smaller, and Roy snored, but somehow they balanced each other out.

Jean couldn’t believe he’d stumbled into this relationship, still barely dared to think it was real and happening, but damn, if he died tomorrow, he’d die a happy man. He had not one, but two, people who cared about him, who’d tease and cuddle and kiss and love him.

He was even excited to sleep, knowing they’d probably star in his dreams, and he’d get to wake up beside them in the morning. Shit, if he’d thought he was lucky for getting to go on a date with Riza, he didn’t know what to call himself now.

As he finally drifted off, he settled on calling himself happy.


End file.
